Eye in the sky: New weapon in real estate wars

Birds Eye Productions owner Josh Lambeth modified this 19-pound drone housing a camera with video/still capabilities and two batteries. He also added wheels for a soft landing. Both flight ending in smooth and well controlled landings. All wheels hit the ground at the same time. CINDY YAMANAKA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

The drone swooped down on the Newport Coast house at 10 a.m. on a recent Friday. .

For two hours, the remote-controlled, 4-foot-wide "octocopter" dipped and dived, circled and buzzed around the hilltop property at 1 Via Emilia.

Instead of firing missiles, however, the eight-prop drone shot high-resolution video and photos. And the agent who deployed the drone doesn't work for the CIA; he's with First Team Real Estate.

The mission was to create a real estate marketing video unlike any from the competition, said Realtor Marcus "Kiwi" Gualter, who paid $2,200 to produce the video.

Six weeks after the March 8 filming, a buyer purchased the 4,800-square-foot luxury home for $4.4 million.

Gualter said the drone footage was key to selling the house so quickly.

"It was instrumental in creating a higher level of interest for the property," said Gualter, who works out of First Team's luxury-home office in Newport Beach. "You always want to be Superman," he said, and with the drone, "you can fly around the house like Superman."

The video was one of a handful shot with drones for Orange County home sellers in recent months. It's also one of the latest – and controversial – ways that drones are seeping into civilian life.

These drones are smaller, civilian cousins of the military Reapers and Predators waging war in Yemen, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Potential applications include public safety, search and rescue, oil and gas exploration, farming, and Hollywood productions.

Police in western Colorado use drones to document crime scenes. Tests are under way in England and South Africa to have drones deliver pizza and beer.

In the service of selling homes, drones can deliver dramatic aerial views at a fraction of what it used to cost.

Prudential California Realty agent Phil Immel paid $8,000 10 years ago to have a helicopter shoot video of a beachfront house at 37 Monarch Bay Drive in Dana Point. He paid just $800 in April to shoot a video of the same house using a drone.

"With drones, it's a heck of a lot cheaper," Immel said. "And some of the angles are better. ... With a drone, you can start right at the beach and come up the bluff and show the house, the golf course, and show the Ritz-Carlton. So you're selling a lifestyle."

In recent months, Immel produced several drone videos promoting the Monarch Beach house, two homes in San Juan Capistrano and pitching the amenities of neighborhoods he's active in.

Legal, privacy questions

One problem for these and other civilian-use drones: For now, they're banned under federal aviation rules.

The FAA decreed in 2007 that unmanned flight be limited to recreational use of model aircraft, specifically excluding drone use for business purposes.

Congress ordered the FAA last year to open the skies to commercial drones, giving the agency until Sept. 30, 2015, to draft new rules.

Until new rules are final, however, "any commercial operation where money changes hands is prohibited," said FAA spokesman Les Dorr. Violators aren't being prosecuted, but are being asked "politely" to stop.

Meanwhile, Dorr said, it's the agency's responsibility to make sure drones are safe for existing aviation as well as for people and property on the ground.

A March 4 incident underscored these concerns. An Alitalia pilot heading from Rome to New York reported seeing a 3-foot drone 200 feet from his commercial jetliner as he prepared to land at John F. Kennedy International Airport, the FBI said.

Related Links

Birds Eye Productions owner Josh Lambeth modified this 19-pound drone housing a camera with video/still capabilities and two batteries. He also added wheels for a soft landing. Both flight ending in smooth and well controlled landings. All wheels hit the ground at the same time. CINDY YAMANAKA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Sweeping views of Newport Coast and the ocean are captured with a drone. The video/still production will help sell a $1.6 million home. A string of technological improvements have made drones or unmanned aerial systems widely available and highly useful for a wide spectrum of civilian applications, from hobbyist fliers to Hollywood productions, to fire fighting and disaster surveillance to real estate. CINDY YAMANAKA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
A drone holding a video/still camera with wide-angle lens captures aerials of a Newport Coast home up for sale. FAA rules regarding use of the trendy drones aren't expected to come out for at least one to two years. Until then, commercial use of drones in the U.S. "is prohibited," the FAA says. CINDY YAMANAKA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
From several hundred feet away, this community pool was captured by a drone used to sell Newport Coast real estate. The FAA is under a congressional mandate to draft rules for the "safe integration" of civilian drones into U.S. airspace. CINDY YAMANAKA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Birds Eye Productions owner Josh Lambeth, right, goes over the flight path with camera operator Noel Lucas. He politely asked the media and realtors not to ask any questions during the operation. Lambeth needed to concentrate and keep his eyes on his customized drone at all times. CINDY YAMANAKA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Josh Lambeth, owner of Birds Eye Productions, plans to get his FAA license soon. His dad is a pilot. The Brooks Institute graduate designed the drone which takes aerial video/still of a $1.6 million Newport Coast home being sold by First Team Real Estate. CINDY YAMANAKA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Birds Eye Productions owner Josh Lambeth, left, wears an ear piece to get feedback of battery voltage, altitude and more, all in a British accent, every five seconds. Camera operator Noel Lucas holds a monitor with a real time video feed. Lambeth notes that he never takes his eyes off the drone not even to glance at the monitor. CINDY YAMANAKA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Birds Eye Productions owner Josh Lambeth controls a drone with light carbon fiber arms and two batteries. Each arm is two feet long. Not all batteries are created equal. Some are better in wind conditions. It took much trial and error for him to design this model which he says, he's still constantly improving. CINDY YAMANAKA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
First Team Real Estate agent Marcus "Kiwi" Gualter excitedly tells camera operator Noel Lucas, "That's the money shot" as the drone captures an aerial pool and ocean view. She houses a monitor with a real time video feed. CINDY YAMANAKA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Birds Eye Productions owner Josh Lambeth, right, and camera operator Noel Lucas are aware of dog walkers, cars and trucks while operating a drone used for a real estate production. CINDY YAMANAKA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Birds Eye Productions owner Josh Lambeth traveled from Phoenix, Arizona, to produce a real estate video/still of a 1.6 million Newport Coast home. An industry group estimates the economic benefit from drone commercial applications will mushroom to $82 billion annually by 2025. CINDY YAMANAKA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Birds Eye Productions owner Josh Lambeth, left, and camera operator Noel Lucas produce a video/still production of this $1.6 million Newport Coast home, right. They traveled from Phoenix, Arizona. CINDY YAMANAKA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Birds Eye Productions camera operator Noel Lucas checks over the live video feed and is an extra pair of eyes during a drone production of a $1.6 million Newport Coast home up for sale. CINDY YAMANAKA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Josh Lambeth, owner of Birds Eye Productions, plans to get his FAA license soon. His dad is a pilot. The Brooks Institute graduate designed the drone which took aerial video/still of a $1.6 million Newport Coast home being sold by First Team Real Estate. CINDY YAMANAKA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Steve Overstreet readies an octocopter to take a photo over Huntington Beach during Kid's Ocean Day 2013 on Tuesday. The octocopter is a remote-controlled helicopter with a camera for taking still photos and video. The unit was shooting a group photo of more than 1,000 students arranged in the outline of a girl listening to a sea shell. The company, Sky High Cinema, uses one person to operate the drone and one to control the camera. The event was sponsored by Orange County Coastkeeper. PAUL BERSEBACH, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
The octocopter takes off over Huntington Beach during Kid's Ocean Day 2013 on Tuesday. PAUL BERSEBACH, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Kenneth M. Chernow, left, with Sky High Cinema, flies his octocopter to take a photo over Huntington Beach during Kid's Ocean Day 2013 on Tuesday. PAUL BERSEBACH, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Kenneth M. Chernow, left, operates the octocopter over Huntington Beach during Kid's Ocean Day 2013 on Tuesday. PAUL BERSEBACH, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
More than 1,000 Orange County elementary school kids lined up in formation for this aerial photograph taken from an octocopter as part of Kids Ocean Day 2013. They did a beach cleanup and learned how trash discarded onshore pollutes the ocean. KURT SODERLING, COURTESY OF COASTKEEPERS
Kenneth M. Chernow, with Sky High Cinema, tests his octocopter before taking a photo over Huntington Beach during Kid's Ocean Day 2013 on Tuesday. PAUL BERSEBACH, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
A 19-pound octocopter equipped with two 22-volt batteries hovers over Newport Coast rooftops Tuesday shooting video of a home that's for sale. The drone operator, Birds Eye Productions of Phoenix, was hired by First Team agent Marcus "Kiwi" Gualter. JEFF COLLINS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
An MQ-9A Reaper drone. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE U.S. AIR FORCE

1 of

User Agreement

Keep it civil and stay on topic. No profanity, vulgarity, racial
slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about
tragedies will be blocked. By posting your comment, you agree to
allow Orange County Register Communications, Inc. the right to
republish your name and comment in additional Register publications
without any notification or payment.